Principal Software Architect

The Walt Disney Company-posted about 2 months ago

Full-time • Mid Level

Orlando, FL

5,001-10,000 employees

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About the Role At Disney Experiences Technology, our team creates world-class immersive digital experiences for the Company’s premier vacation brands including Disney’s Parks & Resorts worldwide, Disney Cruise Line, Aulani, A Disney Resort & Spa, and Disney Vacation Club. We are seeking a Principal Enterprise Architect to lead through influence — shaping strategy, driving enterprise alignment, and guiding our most critical technology initiatives across the Commerce, Ticketing, and Guest Experience domains. This is not an ivory-tower role. Our Principal Architects work shoulder-to-shoulder with business leaders, solution teams, and technologists to connect strategy with execution. The ideal candidate blends executive presence, architectural depth, and collaboration mastery, inspiring teams to deliver technology that scales the Disney magic globally. ————————

Lead Through Influence: Operate as a senior advisor and strategic influencer to executives and domain leaders, helping align technology investments with business outcomes.
Advance Repository Practices: Ensure architectural metadata and taxonomy integrity within the BlueDolphin repository, enabling enterprise transparency and decision support.
Foster Collaboration: Build partnerships with Product, Engineering, Operations, and Security teams to co-own outcomes, not dictate them.
Mentor and Inspire: Coach solution architects across federated business domains to raise the bar on architecture quality, reusability, and scalability.
Communicate and Influence: Translate architectural strategy into compelling business narratives that resonate with executive audiences and technical teams alike.
Champion Modernization and Platform Thinking: Lead initiatives that simplify, modernize, and integrate platforms across Commerce, Payments, Ticketing, and Entitlements.
Balance Short-Term Delivery with Long-Term Strategy: Facilitate informed trade-offs, track technical debt decisions, and ensure alignment with enterprise objectives.

Bachelor’s degree in computer science, Information Technology, or related field required.
10+ years of increasing levels of responsibility in the architecture-oriented roles.
Expertise with enterprise architecture repository tools (e.g., tools similar to BlueDolphin or LeanIX)
Strong leadership experience mentoring architecture teams
Proven ability to influence without authority across technical and business domains
Experience defining and applying metadata models, taxonomy relationships, and governance
Demonstrated ability to lead cross-domain architectural initiatives and guide decision processes
Understanding of both front-end and back-end technologies
Excellent communication skills with the ability to explain technical decisions to business stakeholders
5+ years of experience as a Solution or Enterprise Architect for multiple domains (Preferably an Enterprise Architect)
8+ years Engineering experience across multiple languages, both front-end and back-end.
Expertise in modern programming languages and technologies.
Experience with testing and debugging applications to deliver scalable enterprise solutions.
Demonstrate executive presence: can influence VP and SVP level leaders without authority.
Proven collaboration leader who mobilizes teams across organizational boundaries.
Skilled storyteller who can articulate the “why” behind architectural direction in simple, business-relevant terms.
Diplomatic and pragmatic — a trusted advisor who aligns people as effectively as systems.
At least 5 years of experience in architecture, with significant time spent in enterprise architecture leadership roles.
Deep understanding of governance frameworks and ARB operations.
Experience developing and managing architecture taxonomies, patterns, and standards.
Proven ability to align architecture with strategic objectives, OKRs, and scorecards.
Hands-on familiarity with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP), API-led integration, security-by-design, and data architecture principles.
Experience integrating emerging platforms or modernizing legacy systems at scale.
Experience supporting commerce, payments, ticketing, or entitlements platforms preferred.
Thrives in a federated, creative, and high-visibility environment, where technology enables storytelling and guest experience.
Comfortable operating in matrixed organizations and partnering with multiple business units.
Exceptional written and verbal communication skills — clear, concise, and outcome-oriented.
Lead and guide analysis, design, and development of software solutions and products used across local, networked, and cloud environments.
Deliver high-impact projects supporting enterprise platforms and technology infrastructure.
Contribute to the design, testing, and implementation of major systems and applications.
Collaborate with cross-functional teams and stakeholders to define requirements and influence technical direction.
Shape scalable architectures and support planning for complex enterprise projects.
Evaluate emerging technologies within your area of expertise to guide strategic recommendations.

Advanced degree (MBA, MS) preferred.
Experience delivering architecture in platform-oriented and product-led organizations
Background in API design and messaging standards
Knowledge of security-by-design principles and secure architecture practices
Experience integrating SaaS solutions and working with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP)
Familiarity with architecture maturity models and scorecards
Certifications such as TOGAF, ArchiMate, or equivalent enterprise architecture frameworks are desirable.
8+ years of experience working with cloud vendors
8+ years of experience with databases (relational and non-relational)
Experience with SaaS vendor implementations
Experience with messaging patterns and API design best practices
Experience implementing security best practices and security-by-design

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